Central Park
by Nil1875
Summary: A short story that takes place a few hours after the conversation in Mac's office in 'What you see is what you get.' Mac/Stella K  Fluff  Oneshot


**Title:** Central Park

**Rating:** K+

**Pairing:** Mac/Stella

**Length:** 1,120 (Oneshot)

**Setting: **This takes place a few hours after the conversation in Mac's office at the end of the season 1 finale 'What you see is what you get', which I will recap briefly.

_Stella walks into Mac's office past Danny. "You talked to Danny about the Eval?" Mac gives Stella major elevator eyes. "You like it?" Stella smirks, referring to her rather revealing dress. Mac nods. "Hopefully my date will too. "_

_"Yeah," Mac sighs. "It's all here. He went," he says, referring to Danny. "He's trying. And then this, comes across my desk." Mac hands Stella a folder with an application for field qualifications._

_"Hawkes wants to work in the feild," she says._

_"I should have seen that coming."_

_"Yeah you and me both. What do you think?" She hand him back the folder._

_Mac debates. "I think, it can wait until til tomorrow," he says as he takes off his gun and puts on his jacket. "Right now, I have someplace I gotta be."_

_Stella's face falls a little before she says, "I'm impressed."_

_"I think it's time," Mac nods._

_Stella makes a bit of a face. "Let me fix your tie," she grins. _

_She walks around his desk and takes his tie off, saying "You just need to loosen up, Mac." She undoes the top button of his collar and tucks it under his jacket neatly. Mac seems a little unconformable and she backs up, observing her work. _

_They look at each other for a moment then both start laughing a little. Stella puts one hand on Mac's cheek, then turns to leave, with a "Have a good time," as she walked out of the office. Mac seems a bit sad as he watches her leave._

The story begins about three hours later. Thank you and enjoy!

* * *

Stella sighed as her phone rang and she dug it out of her purse. She looked at the caller ID and groaned. It was Mac. She flipped it open.

"Hey Mac, please don't tell me we have a crime scene."

"No…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your evening just…"

"Don't worry about it, my date never showed. I was just about to head home," Stella said. She smiled at the waitress who had brought her the bill for the bottle of wine and dug some money out of her purse.

"I'm sorry. Rose called earlier…she couldn't make it."

"It's fine as long as I don't have to go to a crime scene in this dress. Sorry about Rose, did she say why she couldn't come?" Stella accepted her coat from the clerk at the coat check and left the restaurant, wondering down the street towards Central Part, even though she wasn't sure why.

"No she didn't. Just that something came up." Mac paused. "Hey Stella, how far are you from the park?"

Stella stopped walking for a moment in surprise. She blinked then smiled and kept walking. "Just a couple of blocks. Why?"

"Do you want to meet me there?"

"Sure Mac, I'd love to."

"You know where."

Stella flipped her phone shut and smiled to herself. They had their own special place in the park where they would sit and eat lunch or have coffee whenever they had the free time. Maybe something would come of this night after all. The look on Mac's face when he'd seen her dress had been enough to tell her that.

Stella eyed some creeps as she entered the park and moved her badge from her purse to the breast pocket on her coat. They backed off pretty quickly, though they were still watching her. A couple of them even started to follow when she got a ways ahead of them.

Wishing she had her gun, Stella kept walking through the park. She heard laughing and jeers behind her, but knew not to look around, just keep her head high and keep walking.

She thought they were getting closer when Mac came out of nowhere and wrapped an arm around her waist protectively. She glances down at the glint on his belt and saw his badge and gun displayed to the world and smiled.

He glared at the thugs over his shoulder and they backed away. He pulled Stella closer and they walked the rest of the way to their little alcove in silence.

"Not exactly how I imagined I'd spend my evening," Stella muttered as they sat down. "Stood up at one of the most expensive restaurants I've ever been to and then trailed by thugs through the park."

Mac chuckled. He still had his arm around Stella's shoulder and was realizing he had been right and wrong earlier. It was time he moved on yes, just not with Rose. He had finally understood the look on Stella's face that evening when he slid off his wedding ring and put it in the desk drawer. It had all clicked while he was waiting for Rose.

"So my knight in shining armor came to save me. How did you know which way I would come from?" Stella looked up at him and smirked. "Psychic much?"

Mac shrugged. "That dress and those shoes? Only a few places you could go. They're all on that side of the park. Besides, I didn't want you walking all alone out here at night, so I came to find you."

"Just in time too, they sounded like they were only a couple feet away." Stella leaned against Mac and sighed.

She was secretly glad her date hadn't show because she wasn't sure she could have sat there and pretended to be even remotely interested in what he was saying, when the whole time she would have been thinking about Mac.

Mac glanced at his watch. It was almost ten, but in New York that didn't really mean much.

"C'mon Stel, lets get something to eat. I'm sure you didn't have anything, did you?"

She shook her head and moved to stand up, but Mac held her back.

"Stel, just so you know…I'm not asking you as a friend…I'm asking you as a date."

Stella's eyes widened. "Mac?"

"You've been right all along Stel, it's time for me to move on."

With that Mac leaned forward and kissed her gently. Stella was still in shock, but it passed quickly enough and she smiled, letting her eyes close and her body melt to his soft touch.

She kissed him back timidly and put on hand on his shoulder. When he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss she responded with a gentle sigh.

When they finally pulled apart they were both breathless and Stella's cheeks were red.

"Mac…"

"Stella will you marry me?"

The shock was evident on her face and it reached to the very bottom of her soul. She couldn't speak as she searched the eyes of the man sitting there, holding her and smiling softly at her.

She could see the determination in his eyes, the caring and the love. She couldn't tell weather her heard was soaring or shattering at what he was asking. It was something she had dreamed about for years, that someday they would be together. Now it was a reality and she didn't know what to do.

"Are you serious Mac? You just asked me on a date five minutes ago, now…"

Mac nodded. "I know, but Stel, it's something I should have done a long time ago. It's been five years and I know in my heart that if ghosts were real, Claire would be sitting right there on that bench over there telling me how much of an idiot I am when the woman of my dreams is sitting right next to me.

I love you Stella Bonasera, I have for a very long time and I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

He kissed her again and this time she threw both arms around his neck and held on for dear life. When he pulled back he wiped away the tears that were streaking down her cheeks, but he wasn't worried because she was grinning.

"I love you too, you stubborn, idiotic, handsome, wonderful man," she whispered. "Yes, yes I'll marry you, on one condition."

"Anything, Stella."

"Take me on one real date. Someplace nice." Her eyes twinkled.

"I know just the place," Mac grinned.

* * *

**Please note that while in the episode Mac removed his gun, I left it in the story because it was needed. **

**Please Review, I love them!**


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